Work at the start of the week was focussed on starting to prepare all of our gîtes to accept guests yesterday. On Monday this meant I needed to clear the parking space in front of Stable.
Having chopped down the trees on the north end of the orchard bed a few weeks ago, we had decided to leave the branches and twigs in the parking space temporarily. There was too much of it to make taking it all to the déchèterie sensible so we decided that we would burn it at some point. However, that meat needing to drive it round to our back garden and across the lawn and it hadn’t been dry enough until now.
On the down side, this has meant that we now have a larger pile of garden waste at the end of the garden but, on the up side, it means we have to have a bonfire sometime soon ?.
In last week’s blog I mentioned that I hadn’t progressed the floor in the Grange games room for a couple of weeks but that it was our intention to make sure that it would be done for the start of the season.
So, on Tuesday, despite having amazing weather outside, I took the decision to go back into Grange and make the final push to the end. The choice of my timing was that we were due a downpour overnight Tuesday and Wednesday morning when I could remain in Grange and varnish the completed floor and repair the billiard light we have acquired.
The floor looks great and it means that we are within a few days of having a completed games room – for which we made another exciting purchase in the week. More next week if it gets delivered in the next few days although as there are 2 public holidays this week (Tuesday and Thursday) who knows when / if we will get a delivery! I just need to add some beading around the outer edge of the floor (and of course clear out all of the accumulated debris – although that is dependent on having somewhere to put it!) and we can officially open the Games Room – phase 1 complete.
Since varnishing the floor I have spent a couple of days with a paintbrush or spraycan in hand. Now that the room is almost ready I wanted to refurbish the pool table and billiard light we have to put in. Having bought them together on French Gumtree both needed a little TLC. The light needed to be rewired and have some holes filled which I did with a fibre glass kit (simple but very messy) and the table needed a panel which had been replaced with particleboard painted to match the rest.
I have almost finished both and we should have them in place next week. The other item I painted we added to the tropical bed – along with a (unpainted) variegated yucca which is harder to spot! We think it looks great. We were given it by some friends in the village who bought their house from a fisherman who left a few in their yard. It had always been the intention for it to go in the tropical bed as a bit of a feature but we then thought we paint it as close to Kergudon blue as we could so it will match all of the wood when that is (eventually) painted too.
Friday was back to preparing gîtes as this week we are completely full for the first time in 2018 which we are delighted about. As there are 2 public holidays many of the French ‘faire le pont’ (make the bridge) which is basically taking the day off between a weekend and holiday. As there are 2 holidays there are bridges to be had Monday, Wednesday and Friday so not a lot will happen in France this week!
We have a lovely French family in Granary who stayed with us last year; a large family reunion in Priory and Stable who have travelled from Canada, London and within France; and a Scottish couple and Westie staying with us in Hayloft. This has meant that Dave’s parents – who also arrived with us yesterday for a week – are with us in Kergudon and Dave and I have had to move to the top floor. It is thankfully convenient that the storeroom was completed recently so we could see the carpet on our top floor!
Today has been continuing to clear the boundary on our outer north talus, along Stréat al Louarn, and start the wall between Grange and what will be my new man-shed. As the dimensions of the new will be shorter than the existing cave I am building some steps at the far end to allow access to cut the hedge.
From To
Only a few hours on that so far but hopefully I will be able to progress it next week as it is all part of getting the garage complete and having somewhere to put all of that detritus currently in the games room. You see how one job is so dependent on completing another – I should have been a project manager!
Salut.